Quote (AspenSniper @ Jan 14 2015 02:15pm)

I have to agree here. Let's break it down a bit.

$2200/month = $35k a year after taxes and with full health insurance paid 50% by the employer 50% by you in MARYLAND, which is a very high tax state. Virginia would be more like $2300-2400/month. But let's be conservative here.

1 bedroom apt - $1000
electricity - $100
phone - $80
Cable/TV/Internet - $60 (mine is $60 and I have a dvr box, 50 mbps internet, 1 TV with most channels)
$8000 car on a 5 year loan - $130 without interest, call it $150 with
Car insurance - $80
Food/regular toiletries - $400 ($100 a week is fair if you don't go out drinking or anything like that.


That's $1870. Leaving $330 to spare or spend monthly. It's slightly tight, but absolutely doable. That's assuming your employer doesn't give you bonuses, overtime, etc.

Quote (PlasmaSnake101 @ Jan 14 2015 02:42pm)

Quote (Skinned @ Jan 14 2015 02:54pm)

Nobody said conspiracy.  Quit putting stupid words in my mouth.

Are zoning laws not a thing?  This is something studied in sociology.  Are we social scientists just completely wrong in everything?  Coming from a social scientist such as yourself that would be a disheartening thing to hear 

Quote (cambovenzi @ Jan 14 2015 02:56pm)

That I know of, Most zoning regulations don't dictate the exact size and cost of the houses.
If you are down with throwing them away im all ears tho.

Quote (Valhalls_Sun @ Jan 14 2015 12:40pm)

we raised 6 kids and until my last job I never made over $42,000.00 we didn't buy new cars just good used trucks in that time we lived on three small farms the first I gutted the house and totally remodeled it at nights and Sundays (had to work sat.) we sold the first place for double what we paid, found something we could buy with more land and a house that was a fixer upper again but we wanted to use some of the cash we had left from the profits off the first. Anyway we did it again only tripled out investment with some smart advertising I had found land neat to a 5000 acre duck hunting club that sat next to the Illinois flyway then in front of us was the biggest state park in Illinois with over 8,000 acres of horse riding trails and open seasonal hunting. People from Chicago bought it

TL/dr  you can live on frugal means when you have a plan and a goal, especially with a family it's essential to have every feel involved in the plans otherwise they may feel bad about not having the ready spending cash of some irresponsible families.

Quote (Arsenic_Touch @ Jan 14 2015 03:03pm)

Looks like your inaccurate generalized college numbers that are once again leaving out things you have to pay for.

and 60 bucks for internet, cable and phone in maryland? ...HAHA. There's no way in hell you're paying that little.
I've shopped around for years in this state, those numbers are just not possible with what you claim.
1k for a 1 bedroom apartment? what fantasy land is this?

Quote (Arsenic_Touch @ Jan 14 2015 02:03pm)

Looks like your inaccurate generalized college numbers that are once again leaving out things you have to pay for. And try to fit everything to a non realistic bubble.

60 bucks for internet average tier internet, cable with most channels and phone in maryland? ...HAHA. There's no way in hell you're paying that little.
I've shopped around for years in this state, those numbers are just not possible with what you claim.
1k for a 1 bedroom apartment? what fantasy land is this?

Quote (Skinned @ Jan 14 2015 11:54am)

Nobody said conspiracy.  Quit putting stupid words in my mouth.

Are zoning laws not a thing?  This is something studied in sociology.  Are we social scientists just completely wrong in everything?  Coming from a social scientist such as yourself that would be a disheartening thing to hear 

Quote (Skinned @ Jan 14 2015 03:00pm)

Is that why there are so many $40k homes next to $300k homes?

What the fuck do you know about this, lol.